Study and Prayer

Why should we live for Jesus? Because He lived and died for us! His love was a dying love. Now show your love for Jesus by obeying God's Word. (Go ye therefore and teach all nations.)Matthew 28:19 KJV

Once we have believed God's Word and know that we have eternal life, the next step in Living For Jesus is to study and pray. We need to allow the Word of God to become part of our every day routine. As we read and study the scriptures they will begin to help us make wise and better choices based on the truth of God's Word. 

Think of it this way. When we take our thoughts and prayers to God, it is our way of talking to Him. And when we read and study the bible, God is speaking back to us and answering our prayers. It helps us to establish a healthy growing relationship with God.

We all have a lot to learn from God and we can spend all our years and eternity learning about everything He has prepared for us. (Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.)1st Corinthians 2:9 KJV

Baptism And The Local Church

Okay, now you have asked Jesus into your heart and secured your home in heaven. The next step in order to continue "living for Jesus" is to follow the LORD in believers baptism! What is believers baptism? Once we have trusted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we are saved for eternity. But, to avoid being disobedient to God's command, we need to take the next step of obedience which is believers baptism. Jesus commands us to be baptized. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:"(Matthew 28:19 KJV)

Baptism doesn't save us. It signifies our union with Christ and is a testimony before the local church that we have already trusted Jesus as our personal Savior. Bible baptism is not a part of salvation. Bible baptism always follows salvation. Notice the verse, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations."(Get them Saved and then after we have trusted Christ), "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

How should we be baptized? Bible baptism is always by immersion. "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into His death?"(Romans 6:3 KJV) Also verse 5 tells us,"For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death..." So bible baptism is being compared to being buried or planted which means to be completely immersed.

In conclusion, bible baptism is a picture of the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Bible baptism is not part of salvation, just simply the first step of obedience for the believer.

Find a local bible believing Baptist church and tell the pastor that you have trusted Christ as your personal savior and that you would like to follow the Lord in believer's baptism.

Bible baptism:

1. Is commanded by Christ.
2. Always follows salvation.
3. Is by immersion only. 

Believe

The first requirement to Living For Jesus is simply to believe or trust. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."(Acts 16:31-KJV) To successfully live for Jesus you must first believe on (trust in) His Word. John 3:16 tells us " For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him (Jesus) should not perish but have everlasting life." We must put our faith and trust in God's Word. Jesus is the living Word. In other words, the bible is the complete Word of God. We must believe the entire bible, not just the parts we choose. 

Now that we've got that down, to live successfully for Jesus we need to act on what we believe. Sometimes living for Jesus contradicts what the world teaches us. The main focus of the world is to live for self. To be successful in life by working hard and making a name for ourselves is the goal most people seek. There is nothing wrong with that in itself but, by taking all the credit ourselves, we leave God out. There is no such thing as a self made man. God has enabled us and we need to acknowledge Him. Acting on what we believe requires us to study the bible and put the principles we learn into our every day lives.

As we study the bible keep in mind that we have the living Word of God right in front of us. "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield to them that put their trust in Him." (Proverbs 30:5) Jesus is our example and we should strive to be like Him.

God loves us and has proven His love for us by dying on the cross for our sins and the sins of the whole world. Take Jesus at His word and believe that He will bless us as we put Him first in our every day lives. Believe, even when it doesn't make sense to the rest of the world, believe! God is always there for you!